How to go plastic free at your workplace

19/07/2016 Waterlogic

In the Australia we produce a staggering 583m bottles of water yearly, which contributes heavily to the total 7bn drink containers that end up in landfill and Australian oceans. The worrying thing is this is only going to increase in the foreseeable future as the bottled water industry continues to boom.

In an aim to reduce this environmental concern, each July across the world is National Plastic Free month, challenging people to stop any single-use of any plastic during July. For Plastic Free July, here at Waterlogic we’ve formulated a simple and easy way to remember to reduce the amount of plastic you use at your workplace. We call it the 5 R Method: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Raising Awareness.

Refuse

In any instances that you might not be able to recycle then refuse to purchase or consume. Simply avoid using disposable plastic bottles, plastic bags, straws, cups and plates that cannot be reused over time. Use long-lasting, glass or paper alternatives. Try making your own coffee rather than buying takeaway coffee and save money as well as plastic waste. If your office installs a bottleless water cooler, then you can also enjoy fresh pure water in a way that is far more sustainable, without the need for any recycling.

Reduce

Unfortunately, there may always be situations where you simply cannot avoid buying plastic. In these situations try to reduce the amount that is used at home and at your business. Use glass bottles of milk for your coffee, rather than plastic. To stay plastic free, purchase a reusable lunch bag/box to carry around your lunch rather than a plastic bag. You can even store office items in cardboard boxes, which are much more environmentally friendly. The main focus is reducing the amount of plastic being discarded.

Reduce your dependence on plastic at wotk with a bottleless water dispenser

Reuse

Reusing more durable containers to store food and beverages that you can take to work is a great way to reduce how much plastic is used. Reusable items that are nontoxic can easily replace plastics. Use things such as Tupperware (plastic or glass) containers for storing food or reusable canvas bags for shopping. You can even reuse bottles of water at work. One $2.50 600ml bottle can be refilled every day for 5 years with tap water before it costs you that original $2.50. If you use a bottleless water dispenser in your office you’ll even be able to fill that bottle with filtered water that is as high quality and great tasting as what you can buy in a bottle originally.

Recycle

We can all do more for office recycling as well as recycling in our homes. One of the most effective actions you can take at your office is to implement specific and clearly labelled recycling bins. Making recycling as easy as possible can be the first step to dramatically increasing the sustainability of your workplace. This allows you to recycle paper, cardboard and printer cartridges on a daily basis rather than these items ending up in landfill or our oceans.

Raise Awareness

Taking part in the previous four R’s are a great step into turning your business office and workplace into a more green-friendly environment. However, the biggest way to completely remove plastic from yours and other workplaces is to raise awareness of the problem. Informing co-workers, family and friends how they can help and get involved by implementing the 5 R’s in their life and help in having a plastic free July.